Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Foraging00:48

Optimal Foraging

How animals obtain and eat their food is called foraging behavior. Foraging can include searching for plants and hunting for prey and depends on the species and environment.
Trophic Efficiency00:46

Trophic Efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss as metabolic heat, an average of only 10% of the original energy obtained is passed on to the next level. This pattern of energy loss severely limits the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain.
Trophic Levels01:35

Trophic Levels

All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food from either solar or chemical energy. Each subsequent level obtains energy from the levels below. Detritivores can occupy any of the levels above primary producers.
Symbiosis00:58

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
Ecological Niches02:02

Ecological Niches

All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.Multiple species cannot occupy the exact same niche within their habitat. If the niches of two or more species overlap to a large extent, the competitive exclusion principle dictates that one species will outcompete the other, forcing it to...
Dietary Connections01:23

Dietary Connections

In biological systems, most metabolic pathways are interconnected. The cellular respiration processes that convert glucose to ATP—such as glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation, and the citric acid cycle—tie into those that break down other organic compounds. As a result, various foods—from apples to cheese to guacamole—end up as ATP. In addition to carbohydrates, food also contains proteins and lipids—such as cholesterol and fats. All of these organic compounds are used as energy sources to produce...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

From multiplicity of infection to force of infection in sparsely sampled high-transmission <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> populations.

eLife·2026
Same author

Beyond Temperature: Relative Humidity Systematically Shifts Juvenile Thermal Performance and Projected Population Growth in a Malaria Vector.

Ecology letters·2026
Same author

Analysis of the impact of gene evolution on reproductive effects reveals prevalent sexual and germline-soma conflicts.

Nature ecology & evolution·2026
Same author

Humidity shapes the thermal niche of <i>Anopheles stephensi</i>, an invasive malaria vector.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Global stability of ecological and evolutionary dynamics via equivalence.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Socioeconomic and household water management determinants of malaria and other vector-borne disease prevention in Urban Gujarat, India.

Malaria journal·2026
Same journal

The microlandscapes of tree trunks: the effect of lichen and tree-level characteristics on arthropod communities.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Centimetre-scale landscapes to assess the motion behaviour and cognition of gastropods and bivalves.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Intertidal microcosms of wave-swept rocky shores: ecological and physiological insights from a uniquely stressful environment.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Temporal and spatial variation in temperature and oxygen at the microscale: key niche axes for aquatic life.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Natural microcosms in ecology: fulfilling the promise of model systems?

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
Same journal

Microbe-induced galls and plant defence: metabolite crosstalk in a co-evolutionary battle.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

Functional links and robustness in food webs.

Stefano Allesina1, Antonio Bodini, Mercedes Pascual

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Natural Science Building, 830 North University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. jane.memmott@bris.ac.uk

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|May 20, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Ecosystem robustness depends on functional feeding links, not just species hubs. Many redundant links mean even non-hub extinctions can destabilize ecosystems, risking tipping points.

More Related Videos

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers
10:17

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers

Published on: October 5, 2017

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks
09:49

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks

Published on: September 25, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
10:20

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers
10:17

Laboratory Protocol for Genetic Gut Content Analyses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Using Group-specific rDNA Primers

Published on: October 5, 2017

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks
09:49

Divergence of Root Microbiota in Different Habitats based on Weighted Correlation Networks

Published on: September 25, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Ecological networks
  • Conservation biology

Background:

  • Ecosystem robustness to species loss is critical amid rising extinction rates.
  • Previous studies focused on species (hubs) rather than interactions in food webs.
  • Secondary extinctions are a key concern in understanding ecosystem stability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of trophic links, not just species, in ecosystem robustness.
  • To differentiate between functional and redundant feeding connections.
  • To assess how link redundancy affects ecosystem stability and tipping points.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of empirical food web data.
  • Categorization of trophic links based on their contribution to ecosystem robustness.
  • In-silico removal experiments to simulate species loss impacts.

Main Results:

  • Trophic links can be classified as functional or redundant.
  • Species hubs may not be critical if their links are redundant.
  • The proportion of functional links is consistently high across diverse ecosystems.
  • Ecosystem robustness can decrease significantly due to extinctions that don't cause secondary extinctions.

Conclusions:

  • Ecosystem stability is more dependent on the functionality of feeding links than on the presence of highly connected species (hubs).
  • Redundant links are common, and their loss can impact ecosystem robustness.
  • A high proportion of functional links suggests ecosystems are sensitive to species loss, potentially leading to tipping points and collapse.